


The Arcuate Moon

by Recurring



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Painting, Stargazing, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25004854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Recurring/pseuds/Recurring
Summary: Two archers beneath the crescent moon. One dreams of being a knight, the other, a painter. Both just want this peace to last.From the prompt "Arcuate (arched; bow-shaped)"
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9





	The Arcuate Moon

Certain that he'd heard a ghost, Ashe decided that it was time to hightail it out of the cathedral.He should have known better than to come out here so late at night, but somehow he always found himself tracing the same steps back.He didn't know if he was searching for answers, or whether, deep down, those answers involved the memories and fears that haunted him.

His steps rang out loud on the stones, leading him further from the grand structure behind him.The bridge that connected the cathedral to the monastery was too long for his liking, and the way the wind sometimes whistled around it only served to worsen his fears.

Thankfully, it was quiet this night.Ashe pulled up his hood and made haste, the autumn air sharp in his lungs.It raked against his throat, catching when he saw a strange silhouette ahead of him.

Ashe froze, quivering with anxiety.No one came out here this late.He never passed anyone.And this shape, it wasn't human.It was bulky and strange and in the seconds in which Ashe failed to identify it, his mind conjured one horrible possibility after another in rapid succession.

Part of the thing turned, slowly, hideously, and a trembling voice called out "W-who's there?"

Ashe exhaled and dropped his shoulders."It's just me, Ignatz.What are you doing out here?"His heart was still pounding, so Ashe laughed nervously as he crossed the distance between himself and his fellow archer.

"I'm, well," Ignatz said."It's nothing, really, to be quite honest--"

"Are you _painting_?" Ashe asked.He squinted at the thing that had distorted Ignatz' silhouette so badly--it was an easel and canvas."Can you even see out here?"

"The sky is so clear," Ignatz said, like he was admitting to a crime."When your eyes adjust you don't even need a lantern."

"I suppose that's true," Ashe conceded.He leaned against the stone railing of the bridge, looking out over the dim landscape below.In the sky, the moon was a mere crescent, looking for all the world like a bow pulled taut, ready to let an arrow fly."But it still can't be easy to paint in this light."

Ignatz set his brush down."No, it isn't.But the way this place looks," he trailed off, and when Ashe turned to see where the other archer's sentence had gone, he saw that Ignatz was staring into the distance.

Ashe let the silence remain.After the battles they'd fought, after every horrible thing that had happened, silence was something Ashe could contemplate.It was peace, as much as it was the holding of a breath before the next round of violence.

"It's so _peaceful_ here at night," Ignatz said, and Ashe couldn't miss the wish in Ignatz's voice, his tone almost like a prayer. 

"You're right," Ashe agreed.Especially tonight, when the air was still and cool."You know, the longer I stand here, the more I can see.For such a thin sliver of moon, it gives off a lot of light."

"It's perfect," Ignatz said. 

"Am I keeping you from your work?" Ashe asked, standing up straight as the realization hit him.

Ignatz shook his head."No, no, of course not!Actually my hand was cramping up right when you came by, so perhaps you were a sign that I need to take a break.And I like to just look sometimes."

"Oh, good," Ashe said, relaxing again against the cold stones."Maybe it was a sign for me, too.I always come out here and I'm never quite sure what it is I'm looking to find.Maybe it's just company."

"You're welcome to stay," Ignatz said warmly.

The two of them looked out over the bridge in silence, the moon still shining brightly down on them.Underneath its silver curve, they didn't have to worry about tomorrow's battle, about who they wanted to be and who they were expected to be.They simply _were_.

Ashe saw from the corner of his eye when Ignatz went back to painting, but didn't ask to see it unfinished.He went on watching the moon's slow, aching progress across the night.

"It's such a thin sliver," Ashe said.

Ignatz looked up from his palette." _Arcuate_ ," he said."Oh, sorry--"

"No, that's the perfect description.It really does look like a bow pulled back."

"Yes," Ignatz said, sounding relieved."Maybe that's the Goddess' bow, ready to protect us."

"Maybe that's why it feels so safe out here," Ashe agreed, even though personally, the reason was his human company. 

"Maybe!Or maybe it's having a knight near me," Ignatz said.

Ashe laughed."I'm not a knight yet."

"You're well on your way," Ignatz assured him."Here, what do you think?"He lifted a lantern that had been set at his feet and stood to the side, offering Ashe room to look at the unfinished painting.

"I'm not so sure," Ashe began, then gasped."Oh, Ignatz, that's--"

The other archer fiddled with the paintbrush still in his hand."It's not my best, and I could have taken more time with the foreground, but--"

"It's incredible," Ashe breathed."The stars--"

The stars had been painstakingly painted, and Ashe recognized the brightest ones as the real constellations above them.However, the minor stars, swirling and spattered across the canvas, suggested a form just behind the moon, drawing that heavenly body back like a bow.It was subtle, but beautiful, and when Ashe looked again at the sky, he could almost feel the Goddess in the place where Ignatz had painted her.

"I love it," Ashe said, simply. 

"Really?"

"Of course.Wait--in the front--"Ashe leaned forward, squinting at the silhouette of someone standing in the painting's foreground.

Ignatz looked down."I hope you don't mind me adding you."

"I never thought anyone would ever paint me," Ashe laughed, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"It's hardly a painting of you--just a dark patch on the canvas," Ignatz said, "but well, we both know it's you.And when you've been knighted, maybe you'd let me try to do a proper portrait."

"Wow," Ashe said.He stared at the painting, all the little details that probably wouldn't be truly noticeable until daylight.The addition of the silhouette seemed to make the sky that much larger and more majestic.When Ashe remembered that Ignatz had essentially offered to paint his portrait, he tried to snap back to reality."Of course!It would be an honour to have you paint me!I don't see that you'd want to--I'm sure you'll have so many commissions after this is all over."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Ashe said."But if you really want to make time for me--then I'd really like that."

Ignatz smiled, as bright as the moon was."Me, too.Let's make a promise, then, to do just that."

"Agreed."

**Author's Note:**

> I barely ever try prompts so this was waayyyy out of my comfort zone! I'm happy with it though, and happy that I got to use it as an excuse to write Ashe pov AND Ignatz painting!


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